Westpac Banking Corp has completed the digitisation of its mortgage approval process, allowing some customers to receive unconditional offers within 10 minutes by the final quarter of this calendar year.

The development of a paperless application process for home loans, which will be offered through the bank’s consumer apps and website, comes as lenders prepare to use fast turnaround times to retain and win new customers during a massive refinancing wave that will hit the banking sector next year as fixed-rate loans expire.